The Dark River's Secret
by bberry06
Summary: Legolas, a little seven year old elfling, disobeys his father and goes deep into Mirkwood's forest. There he falls into the black stream that causes him get something that no Elf in MiddleEarth has gotten before, ill.
1. Always Listen to Your Ada

**Disclaimer- **Sadly, nothing of LotR is mine:(

**Summary- **Legolas, a little seven-year-old Elfling, disobeys his father and goes deep into Mirkwood's forest. There he falls into the black stream that causes him get something that no Elf in Middle-Earth has gotten before; ill.

**A/N- **I needed a break from all of the torture in my other story. I hope that you like reading this as much as I enjoy writing it:D Oh, Tirnen's in here too:D Legolas and Tirnen are the same age here… but in reality, Tirnen's like 4000 years younger than Legolas. (Legolas is 7000 years old… give or take a couple of hundred of years;) I read that off a game card that my friend has. Hehe.)

**Chapter 1- **Always Listen to Your Ada

"An enchanted stream flows through Mirkwood. Black are its waters, and powerful are its effects." King Thranduil warned his only son, "Never play in its waters."

"Alright, ada." Legolas, an Elfling of only seven years, continued to play with his friend.

"Promise me, Legolas." The Elf-king picked his young son up.

"I promise, ada. Now let me play with Tir." The little Elfling squirmed in his father's strong arms.

The Elvenking sighed and set the little blond-haired Elfling down to play with his Sindarin friend. "Ada, can I and Tir go outside?"

"'May Tirnen and I go outside." Thranduil corrected his son's grammar.

"Why would you want to go outside with Tir?"

Thranduil laughed heartily. "Never mind, little one. Yes, you may go outside to play with Tirnen." The Elvenking said. "But you must stay out of the forest." He added, warning his son of the danger of the forest.

Legolas nodded happily and pulled his dark-haired friend outside of the palace to a huge oak tree. "This, Tir, is the best tree to climb in all of Arda!" Legolas pulled a dried tan vine free from one of the tree's many great boughs. He climbed up the vine to a bough that stuck out from the tree's massive trunk. "Come on up, Tir!" He shouted down to the grounded Elfling.

"'Kay!" Tirnen, also an Elfling of seven-years-old, climbed the vine up to his friend perched in the tree.

"Come on, Tir, let's climb up higher." Legolas was a very hyper and energetic Elfling who loved to climb up to high places.

The two Elflings climbed up as high as they could. Once at the top, Tirnen looked to the dirt ground some ten meters below. "We're so high up!" He exclaimed, amazed at how high the tree grew.

"I know! Isn't the view pretty?" Legolas admired Mirkwood's beauty. He soon became fascinated with the wonderful butterflies that gently floated on top of Mirwood's dense canopy.

"Oh! What's that?" Tirnen pointed to a hunched figure slyly picking its way through the forest floor.

"I don't know." Legolas began to climb down the massive tree trunk. "Let's go find out!"

Tirnen followed his blonde-haired friend down to the bottom of the tree's base.

"It was over here!" Legolas ran as fast as his short legs could carry him. He led the way into the forest that his father specifically said never to go into.

"Legolas, didn't your ada say not to go into the forest?" Tirnen became cautious.

"Yah, but don't worry. I always go in this forest and I never get hurt." Legolas tried to sound as convincing as he could, even though this was his first time actually exploring the dark forest.

Tirnen nodded and followed his friend to the area where the mysterious creature was last seen sneaking around in. "It's not here anymore…"

Legolas sulked around; he really wanted to see the creature. Maybe it was Orc or a Warg, or something exciting like that. "Hey, what's that?" He pointed to a black stream flowing swiftly through Mirkwood's forest. Without hearing Tirnen's response, Legolas ran over to the stream and bent over its bank, looking at his reflection in the dark water.

"Legolas, I think we should go now." Tirnen wasn't used to the dark forest, so he was beginning to become scared.

"Hang on, Tir." Legolas bent over further to drink from the stream, but he lost his footing and fell into the rushing, black water.

"Legolas!" Tirnen screamed, running after his friend who was being swiftly carried away by the stream's current.

"Help!" Legolas' blonde head bobbed in the stream's strong current. "Tir," The small prince's head dunked under the water. When it reappeared, he spluttered and gasped for breath.

"Legolas!" Tirnen ran as fast as he could, ignoring the pain in his tiring limbs. "Grab that root!"

Legolas looked ahead and noticed a tree root protruding from the stream's bank. When he passed by it, though, he missed the root, but his suede tunic did not. The small green tunic snagged onto the tree's root. Legolas grasped the root, but he wasn't strong enough to pull himself free of the current.

Tirnen caught up to him moments later. He knelt down and grabbed the prince's wrist. With the help of Tirnen, Legolas was able to pull himself out of the freezing water and out onto the dry green grass.

"Thanks, Tir…" Legolas yawned; feeling rather tired.

"Tired?" Tirnen stuck his shoulder under Legolas' and helped him to his feet.

Legolas yawned again and nodded. "Can we stop here and take a nap?"

Tirnen wanted to get out of the forest as soon as he could. "Can you nap at home?"

Legolas shook his head. "Too sleepy to walk home…"

Tirnen frowned and let Legolas lay down on the grass, hoping that Legolas would take a quick nap, so then they could get back to Thranduil as quickly as they could.

_Tbc…_

**A/N- **Short, I know, butdid you like it? I'll write this story while I write my other one too. So they both should get equally updated.


	2. Strange Meetings

**Disclaimer- **Every single LotR related item belongs to the genius Tolkien… and I own none of it.

**A/N- **You have to know that the stream in Mirkwood makes you forget what you've done and where you've been.

**Chapter 2- **Strange Meetings

An hour or so passed since Legolas fell asleep on the grass, and Tirnen was getting even more scared of the dark forest. "Legolas, wake up!" Tirnen shook the prince's shoulder in a vain attempt to wake him. "Legolas, please…" Tirnen poked Legolas' nose, "… wake up…" When Legolas didn't awake, Tirnen sat down beside his blonde-haired friend and played idly with a blade of grass.

"Hey, what're you doing?" A curly mop of brandy colored hair poked its way into the small clearing.

Tirnen spun around to the source of the voice. "W-Who… who are you?" Tirnen stuttered, caught by surprise.

"I'm Elvellon." A little boy, about the same age as the two Elflings, approached Tirnen casually. "Are you lost?"

Tirnen shook his head nervously; he didn't know what kind of creature Elvellon was, for he didn't look Elvish. "What are you?"

"_What_ am I?" Elvellon stopped advancing and stood still, confused at Tirnen's question. "I'm a human, if that's what you mean."

"A _human_?" Tirnen had never heard the word before, for he grew up with Elves that never talked about the outside world. "So you're not an Elfling like me?"

The little boy shook his head, "Nope."

Tirnen walked cautiously up to Elvellon. He touched his own pointed ear and then he touched Elvellon's rounded ear. "Why don't you have pointy ears?" Tirnen had never been out of Mirkwood before, and it clearly showed.

"I dunno. I was just born with these ears." Elvellon fingered his own rounded ear while looking at Tirnen's pointed one.

"What are you doing out here?" Tirnen remembered that they were still in Mirkwood's gloomy forest.

"I was walking with my father, and I got lost."

"Father?" Tirnen scratched his dark head.

"You know; your dad."

"Oh, I get it." Tirnen still didn't understand the word, but he decided to forget about it and change the subject.

"Who's that?" Elvellon pointed his finger at the sleeping form of Legolas.

"He's Legolas. He's my friend." Tirnen smiled proudly.

"Is he an Elfling too?" Elvellon began to walk over to Legolas' peaceful form.

Tirnen nodded his head, beginning to trust Elvellon.

When Elvellon was standing next to Legolas, he knelt down and put his face so close to the sleeping Prince's, that their noses were almost touching. "Is he alright?" Elvellon noticed that the Elfling was sleeping with his eyes open.

Legolas awoke abruptly and screamed when he saw Elvellon's face as close as it was. He kicked Elvellon off and ran over to Tirnen. "Tir," Legolas shook his friend's arm. "Tir, who is that?"

"Oh, he's El… Elvon… Ellon!" Tirnen said happily. Elvellon nodded, not wanting to argue about his name.

"Ellon? What is he doing in my ada's forest?" Legolas asked Tirnen, not caring if Elvellon heard him or not.

"He got lost." Tirnen re-accounted Elvellon's short story.

"So he's still lost?" Legolas now felt sympathy for the lost child.

Elvellon nodded sadly, "Yah, I got lost from my dad."

"Tir… what's a 'dad'?" Legolas whispered to Tirnen, so that Elvellon wouldn't hear.

Tirnen shrugged. "I don't know…" He whispered back, "Maybe it's like a nana or something…"

Legolas nodded his unsure, but still partially sure understanding. "So, where are we?" Legolas just now got over the feeling of being frightened and was soon surveying the area.

"What do you mean 'Where are we?'?" Tirnen was shocked at what Legolas just asked. "Don't you remember where we are?"

Legolas shook his head. "Nope. I can't remember anything…" No matter how hard he tried, Legolas wasn't able to remember a single thing that happened during the time that they were out. "Do you know where my home is?"

"You don't know where your home is?" Elvellon walked up to the two Elflings.

Legolas shook his head, still partially untrusting of the child. "Tir, where's home?"

Tirnen looked around. "I don't know, but I think we came from this way." Tirnen began to lead the little company east, opposite of the palace's direction.

_Tbc…_

**A/N- **Again, sorry it's so short:P I'll try and make the next chapter longer. But thanks so much for the reviews! You're all so nice!

**Just a little Elvish:**

Ada- dad

Nana- mom

**Responds to Reviews-**

**JediGollum- **First reviewer! Thanks, Jedi! -gives you a cookie- hehe, I like your Elfling stories! They're so cute:D

**Anonymous- **No one really knows the Elves' ages, except Tolkien, but I just went off that as a base. Thanks for the review!

**Blondi aka Lucius- **-nods- Legolas is sweet, isn't he.

**Jenetri- **Thank you!

**Sunflower in the Shadows- **Thanks for reviewing my story! I try to make my writing as interesting as possible:) I love your story by the way;)

**Haldir's Heart and Soul- **Elfling ficts are cute, aren't they:D


	3. Savior

**Disclaimer- **LotR does not belong to me.

**A/N- **.., It's been a while, hasn't it?…:(

**Chapter 3- **Savior

The small company walked for an hour, before Legolas broke the silence and addressed Tirnen, "Tir, this isn't the right way…" He then pointed to a gnarled old tree. "I know that I've seen that same tree before, earlier today."

Tirnen sadly shook his dark head. "I know. I've seen that tree before, too." He sadly slumped down on the dirt.

"Come on. We can't give up. I mean, if we don't find a way out, then _someone_ will to find us!" Elvellon said cheerfully, hoping to raise the little Elflings' morale.

"Yah, or some_thing_ will find us! Every single thing that you could even think of lives in ada's forest." Legolas slumped down next to Tirnen, giving up all hope of getting back home.

Legolas's statement seemed almost prophetic, because just them a warg jumped out of the bush it was hiding in and charged the little group.

Legolas, Tirnen, and Ellon all got up and ran. The two Elflings climbed up a high tree, but Elvellon, the small child, wasn't able to climb the massive tree.

"Run, Ellon!" Legolas yelled, not caring too much if the warg caught him or not.

"No, Ellon, grab this!" Tirnen shouted down to Elvellon whilst letting a green vine fall down to the small child.

Elvellon narrowly escaped death by quickly clambering up the tender vine. He sat near Tirnen who was perched high in the mighty oak.

The warg growled and clawed at the tree with rage and hunger.

An Elf patrolling the area heard the children's cries and the warg's vicious growls. He urged his horse foreword to the source of the noise, checking the glimmering black stallion once the warg was in sight. Drawing his Elvish blade, the Elf leapt gracefully from the back of his horse and stuck the blade deep into the creature's neck. The warg howled before falling dead at the Elf's feet. The Elf looked up and saw the children staring wide-eyed, unbelieving of what just happened. "Do you need help getting down?" The children politely shook their heads and quickly scaled down the tree's great trunk.

"Thank you." Tirnen said, reaching the grassy ground first.

"Thank you, Gwelwen!" Legolas exclaimed, embracing the Elf's long leg.

"Legolas?" Gwelwen asked, just noticing now that the small prince was embracing his leg, "What in Arda are you doing out here?" The Elf picked up the small prince and held him in his arms.

"I'm lost…" Legolas buried his head in Gwelwen's chest and cried.

"Hush, legolas. It is alright." The tall Elf rubbed Legolas's back in a soothing fashion. "Do not worry. I will bring you back to your adar." He then put Legolas onto his horse and told him to stay while he helped the other two children.

Once all of the children were safely on the midnight-black stallion, the Elf mounted the horse and whispered Elvish words in the horse's ear. The horse galloped away at an amazing speed, bearing the riders quickly to King Thranduil's palace.

The King heard the horse's whinny and ran outside as quickly as he could. "Gwelwen!" He ran up to the golden-haired Elf. "Gwelwen, you have found my son!" The Elvenking picked up Legolas and embraced him tightly.

"Oh, Legolas, do not run away like that ever again!" The king scolded his son.

"Sorry, ada…" Legolas was too relieved to be home to care that he was being scolded.

"You know what happens when you disobey me, do you not?"

Legolas cringed at the memories of his ada's punishments. "Yes, ada…"

"Gwelwen, will you take the other two Elflings inside?"

"I will, sire." Gwelwen bowed and picked up the two children in his arms, unknowing that little Elvellon was actually a human.

Gwelwen took the two children inside the palace and set them down in a spare guestroom. "Now, you two little Elflings, stay in here until King Thranduil returns." Both of the children nodded their small heads.

Gwelwen smiled and left them both in the guestroom.

Half an hour passed until the little prince came into the guestroom with the Elvenking following him. Legolas kept his hands over his bottom and tears filled his blue eyes, indicating that he had been spanked hard as a punishment.

"Well, little Elfling, where is your adar?" Thranduil picked up Elvellon.

_'Ada?'_ Elvellon thought, still confused by the Elvish word. "Uh… she's gone…"

"_She?_" Thranduil asked, shocked, "No, little one… your _ada_… where is he?"

"Oh… he's gone, too." Elvellon was beginning to feel most uncomfortable.

"Where did you last see him?"

"I can't remember." Elvellon continued to make up things, pretending he knew what an ada was.

"That is no good." The Elvenking set Elvellon down, most to Elvellon's releif. "Well, I guess that you will have to stay here until your ada is found. Can you tell me what he looks like?"

This is where Elvellon was really stuck. "Uh… he… he's tall."

"Yes. But all Elves are tall. Can you tell me what color his hair is?"

"Yellow." Ellon said, deciding to use Gwelwen's hair color.

"Alright. That narrows it down a bit more." Thanduil nodded. "How does your adar keep his hair? Down or up?"

"He braids it in long pretty braids." Elvellon described Gwelwen's hair again.

"Hmm… this is beginning to sound like Gwelwen… but Gwelwendoes not have any Elflings…" Thranduil thought out lout to himself. "Little one, does your adar wear long flowing clothes?"

"Yah. And he wears boots that touch his knees."

_'That sounds like Gwelwen… I will have to speak with him…'_ Thranduil thought. "Alright, little one. I will go find your adar for you."

Elvellon smiled. "Thank you." He said politely, even though he didn't know what an ada was…

Thranduil returned to the fair guestroom moments later with Gwelwen behind him. "Gwelwen, this little Elfling says that you are his adar… is this true?"

"What? No, sire. You should know that I am not even _married!_ Why in Arda would I have an _Elfling!_ " Gwelwen was shocked.

"I do not know… but the little one says that you are his adar. His description fits you perfectly." Thranduil said, "Is there someone who you have been seeing?"

"No, sire. There is no she-Elf involved in my life."

"Then who is this little one's adar?"

"I do not know." Gwelwen walked over to Elvellon and picked him up in his slender arms. "He has odd hair for an Elf, though." The elder Elf ran his hand through Elvellon's hair. "What is this?" Gwelwen's hand accidentally brushed against Elvellon's ear. He pushed some brandy-colored hair away from the small child's ear and gasped. "Sire, this is no Elfling…"

_Tbc…_

**A/N- **Does anyone reading this have a DeviantArt account? And, Jedi, I know you have one;)

**Responds to Reviews-**

**Sunflower in the Shadows- ** Thanks!

**Legolas's Girl 9- **hehe! He's saved:D

**Jedi Gollum- **Elvellon is a cutie, isn't he:D

**The dancing Cavalier- (**I like your name… very original) Of course I'll continue:)

**Jinga- **:)

**Haldir's Heart and Soul- **Hehe, Mirkwood's a big place!

**Elf771- **Nope, he won't remember a thing…

**Kirsten- **:)


	4. Home, Sweet Home

**Disclaimer- **Refer to chapter 1.

**A/N- **Yes, I know that it has been awhile since I last updated… I'm sorry about that:( And on another note, if you want to read a story dedicated just to Tirnen as an Elfling, then you can go here: http/ www .deviantart. com/deviation/17668702/ He's such a little cutie:D but I must warn you… the story is kind of sad:(

**Chapter 4- **Home, Sweet Home

King Thranduil took the small child from the tall blonde haired Elf and held him as though Elvellon was own Elfling. "Not an Elfling?" Thranduil pushed some brandy hair off of the child's rounded ear and smiled slightly. Then turning to Gwelwen, he said, "No one else has to know that there is a human child in Mirkwood." He put the lock of hair back where it was originally and said again "Elvellon, do not worry. We will find your father."

"You will? Really?" Elvellon looked up hopefully to the king.

Thranduil smiled. "Of course we will. I will make sure of it."

"Ada?" The little Elfling Legolas tugged on his adar's robes. "Ada, my tummy hurts real badly…"

"Oh, ion-nin…" Thranduil set little Elvellon down and picked his son up. "Did you eat or drink anything unusual?"

Legolas shook his small head, "No, ada."

"What about that water that you drank?" Tirnen spoke up.

"What water?" Thranduil asked, a bit worried.

"It was real dark. And it made me sleepy when I drank it."

"The Black stream. Legolas, did you drink from the Black stream?"

"Yeah, I think so. Why? Was it a bad thing?"

"Yes, Legolas. It was a very bad thing to do." Thranduil frowned upon his son's action. "Did I not tell you earlier _not_ to play in the stream, or even to go near it?"

"But, ada, I never _played_ in it! I drank from it!" Legolas smiled proudly, thinking that he followed his adar's orders quite well.

"That is even worse than just playing in it!" Thranduil said harshly, "I do not know what will become of you now… all of the Elves that unknowingly drank the water of that accursed stream have either committed suicide, or else they have somehow disappeared…" He held Legolas tight. "Please do not perish on me, ion-nin…"

"Ada, I'm not going to die; I'm going to-" He was about to finish his sentence, but a violent cough cut off the rest of it.

"You need to see a healer." Thranduil wasted no time in getting him to one of his best healers.

The healer heard Thranduil's coming and he looked upon his king. "Yes, sire? What is it that you need?"

"Legolas has drank from the Black stream and he needs help."

"Set him on that bed there and I will get to him when I can."

"No. You will see to him now." Thranduil ordered solemnly.

The healer nodded and saw to the Elfling sitting on the soft feather bed.

After the examination, which Legolas found to be quite boring, the healer turned to Thranduil sadly. "I do not know what is wrong with him… but whatever it is, it seems to be clearing up…"

Thranduil smiled a bit after the last part of the sentence was said. He picked Legolas up and embraced him lovingly. "Whatever happens, ion, I will be there for you always."

The small prince smiled and coughed again.

"Is there anything that I can give him for that cough?"

"There is this herbal tea that will help soothe him." The healer gave Thranduil a bag of dried crushed herbs. "Give him one cup every night before he is placed down for bed."

Thranduil nodded his thanks and left the room with Legolas snuggled close to the king's chest. "Do you want a bath, Legolas?" Thranduil dared to ask. "You are very dirty after your little adventure."

At the word 'bath', Legolas's body went tense and he started to squirm, trying to free himself from his adar's grasp. "No, lemme down!" He shrieked loudly.

The king couldn't help but smile at his son's feeble attempts to free himself. He brought the young wriggling prince to the bathroom and locked the door, preventing any escape attempts from Legolas. He set the little Elfling down and began to draw the prince's warm bath.

Meanwhile, Legolas was doing everything that he could to escape his dreaded bath. He pounded on the door and shrieked loudly, hoping that someone would come save him from his bath.

Once the warm bath was drawn, Thranduil took Legolas into his arms and began to undress him. "Stop moving, Legolas… the more you struggle, the longer your bath is going to take."

Legolas ignored his adar's words and continued to squirm and try to get away from his undesired bath.

"Legolas, daro!" Thranduil became frustrated with Legolas's behavior.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the king got Legolas's clothes off and he put the little wriggling Elfling into the warm bath water.

There, Thranduil washed all of the dirt off of the Elfling before he took him out of the bath and wrapped a very soft towel around Legolas. He dried Legolas off and dressed him once again. "There," He said, "now do not get dirty again, lest you want to end up in that bath again." He opened the door for the little Elfling, but before he could get the wooden door completely open, Legolas had already bolted out of the bathroom and was heading towards the room where Tirnen and Elvellon were.

_Tbc…_

**A/N- **Well, I will try and not take as long to update from now on…

**Responds to Reviews-**

**Jedigollum- **Gwelwen was a character in my story "An Elfling Named Tirnen" story. He was just a random Elf in there, but I decided to give him another part in here:)

**Xiaoweisan- **Hehe! I'm glad that you laugh at that joke!

**Haldir's Heart and Soul- **Don't worry:) Elvellon isn't going anywhere!

**DMH1973­­-** I'll keep writing. I'm not going to give up on this story.

**Silvia silver elf­- **I know that I was taking forever… please bear with me on the times that I take forever…

**Wolenczak2004- **There's more:)

**Yyunesprith- **There you go:)


	5. Tea and Stories

Disclaimer- Refer to chapter 1.

A/N- I know I dropped this story for a while, but I'm back! And I DO plan to finish this story.

Chapter 5- Tea and Stories

The little elfling Legolas pushed open the oaken door and ran into the room where Elvellon and Tirnen were. He was breathing hard as he braced himself against the massive door. "B…bath…" Was all he could manage to stutter out.

Tirnen gasped quietly and looked with sympathy upon his friend. "That's disgusting," He said appalled. "Why do they make us take those nasty things? No one likes them!"

"Except for the grown-ups. They like them. They take them all the time." Elvellon piped in.

"But grown-ups are weird," Legolas chimed up, "They are always making us do boring stuff all the time!"

The other two agreed to this by nodding their small heads.

"Where do grown-ups come from anyway?" Elvellon asked.

Both Legolas and Tirnen shrugged at this. Legolas was about to answer, but a knock came at the door. Thranduil appeared moments later carrying a glass of something hot.

"Come here, ion…" The king coaxed, "You need to drink this to make you better."

"But I feel fine, ada." Legolas feigned. He smiled slightly and stifled a cough.

Thranduil couldn't help but smile at Legolas. "Come, ion-nin." He reached out and put his arm around Legolas' small waist. He drew him close and pulled him into his strong, loving arms.

"What's that, ada?" Legolas eyed the steaming drink.

"This, Legolas, is tea. It will make you feel better." The Elvenking held the glass up to the tiny prince's lips.

Legolas took a small sip and make a disgusted face. "Eww!" He spat the tea out. "Ada, that's nasty!"

"Do you want to feel better?" Thranduil queried.

"Not if I have to drink that." Legolas pouted.

"Do not pout, Legolas. You need to drink this." He held the glass back up to the tiny delicate lips. Legolas, though, refused to open them even a crack. "Legolas, quit jesting!" Thranduil started to get frustrated with the tiny prince.

"NO." Legolas said sternly. He then started to squirm and try and wriggle free of his father's strong grip.

"Legolas!" Thranduil scolded harshly, "Stop this…" His voice calmed a bit after scolding him.

The little elfling looked down sadly and snuggled close to his father's chest. He listened quietly to Thranduil's strong beating heart.

Thranduil, against his own will, gently lifted Legolas' chin and pried his mouth open with his finger. He tilted the glass to the prince's lips and forced Legolas to drink the tea.

Once all of the green-colored liquid was gone, Legolas got out of his father's lap and went over to his friends quietly, keeping his blond head bent low.

The Elvenking felt extremely vile for forcing his son to drink the tea. He got up and exited quietly, shutting the door as he left.

"Eww!" Legolas hung his pink tongue out, "Nasty!"

"What was that?" Tirnen raised a dark eyebrow.

"I don't know… but it was sick." Legolas scraped his tongue against his teeth, hoping to scrape some of the taste out of his mouth.

Another knock came upon the door. But this time, Thranduil did not appear; rather Gwelwen did.

"Gwel!" Legolas ran to the tall elf and hugged his leg. "Gwel… I have bad taste in my mouth…"

Gwelwen scooped Legolas up into his long arms. "It will go away. Just wait." He smiled.

"I want it to go away now…" Legolas pouted.

The tall elf could only help but smile. "It is time for some little elflings' bedtimes now…" And with that, he carried Legolas off to his room with Tirnen and Elvellon following closely behind.

Gwelwen opened the door to Legolas' room. The room was a massive room. Filled to the ceiling with toys and pillows. Painted on the walls were Mirkwood's colors: green with silver leaves. On the floor was a beige rug laying on top of a wooden floor.

"When's ada coming in?" Legolas asked once he was laid on his bed.

"He has a lot of work to do… he could not tuck you in tonight. He asked me to do so." Gwelwensaid as he placed the other two children in their beds adjacent to Legolas'.

"Why ada have a lot of work?" Legolas asked sadly.

"He is king. Kings have a lot of work to get done." Gwelwen said, picking up a bedtime story.

"Why is he king?" Legolas asked, stifling a yawn.

"He was prince once, but then he became king once Oropher, his adar, passed on." Gwelwen tried to explain as easily as he could, "You will be king one day, too."

"I will?" Legolas looked a little happy.

The servant nodded. "Yes." He answered simply. "And you will make a great king."

Legolas beamed happily. "But I no king for a long time."

"No, you will not be king for a very long time." Gwelwen smiled.

"What's the story?" Legolas' attention was now drawn to the book under the servant's arm.

"Oh, this is the story on dragons, wizards, and hobbits." He smiled, hoping that the elflings would want to hear the adventure.

"Oh…" Tirnen sighed, "So it's a history book?" He lay down and rolled onto his side, not desiring to hear the story.

Against Tirnen's small protest, Gwelwen read the story to the children,

He smiled as the last of the children finally fell asleep. As silent as a mouse, Gwelwen slipped out of the bedroom and shut the door gently behind him.

A/N- Well, all I can ask of you is to review Thanks!


	6. The Dark Past

**A/N- **Nothing much to say right now…

Chapter 6- The Dark Past 

The bright orange sun rose and light flooded into little Legolas' room. The young prince moaned softly and covered his eyes, shielding them from the bright morning sun.

"Time to rise, little ones." Gwelwen came in and gently shook all of the slumbering forms. He came to Legolas, the prince's tunic in hand, and shook him gently. "Wake up, Legolas. Your adar wants you to come down to breakfast."

"No, no now. Later." Legolas' words slurred together as he pushed Gwelwen's hand away.

The servant chortled softly and roused the little elfling from his bed with a little effort. "You must be dressed and down to breakfast soon, little prince." He wrestled Legolas' nightclothes off, being careful not to make the prince too ornery. Next, he pulled Legolas' tunic and leggings on with some forced effort. It seems that Legolas found it quite amusing to kick Gwelwen in the face every now and again.

"There," Gwelwen said, trying his hardest not to be angry with the little prince, "we are finished."

Just now waking up, Tirnen and Elvellon yawned and stretched their tiny bodies.

"Oh!" Gwelwen gasped, now remembering the other children in the room. "You need to get dressed as well."

"We can do it ourselves." Elvellon smiled proudly.

Both Elvellon and Tirnen stumbled out of their soft feather beds and stepped onto the cold wood floor. Elvellon, not so much as Tirnen, had a bit of trouble getting his clothes off. But once off, he could fairly swiftly pull some clean clothes on.

"I finished first." Tirnen smirked, half mocking the little human child.

"So?" Elvellon feigned that he didn't care, "You probably cheated!"

"No I didn't!" Tirnen started to get offensive about the way he finished first, "You're just sore you lost!"

"Boys! Stop this!" Gwelwen stepped in-between the two feuding children. "We must hurry down to the dining hall before we are late!" He hurriedly pushed the three children out the door and to the stairs. The three children followed close behind like lost sheep after a shepherd.

After a very long walk through the twisting, winding halls of the king's palace, the four of them finally came upon the dining hall. Each of them took their respected place and awaited the king.

When Thranduil walked in the room, everyone sitting rose to show their sign of respect. The king wore regal olive green robes that trailed swiftly behind him. He wore a silver circlet with leaves and berries entwined in the delicately crafted item. And his hair shone like gold in the morning light.

The king took his seat at the head of the table and everyone followed his action. "I have a few announcements before breakfast. One is that the on going threats of the spiders have subsided." A wave of approved murmurs followed the statement. "And, we have a guest in our midst. Elvellon, please stand up." Elvellon hesitated a little before standing nervously. "Elvellon will be staying here for a while. And I expect that he will be welcomed with open arms." Thranduil nodded for Elvellon to sit, which he eagerly did. "So that concludes the announcements."

Almost immediately, every elf began to eat and talk amongst each other. The hall was soon filled with laughter, polite conversation, and the quiet clinking of silverware against china.

"How do you like it here, Elvellon?" Gwelwen looked down to the little human trying to drink from such a large glass.

"It's nice." Elvellon replied quietly, now picking up his fork and sticking it in a slice of apple.

Gwelwen smiled a little and took a sip of his wine. "When do you think your father will be found, little one?"

"Never, I hope…" Elvellon whispered under his breath.

"What was that? I am sorry, I must have misheard you… you do not want your father back?"

"No. He's mean to me." Elvellon said quietly, "He hurt me… I… I never lost him in the woods… I ran away from him…"

Gwelwen could suddenly feel a rush of sympathy for the little child, "… why does he hurt you?"

"He says I'm bad. He says that I am no good for anything…"

The tall elf quietly wrapped his long slender arms around the trembling child. He rubbed his back comfortingly. "Do not think about it…"

Elvellon sniffled softly, holding back his tears. "I… I like you Gwel… you're nice."

The servant smiled happily and kissed the top of Elvellon's brow. "I like you too, Elvellon. You are a very nice boy.

"If I ever have children, Elvellon, I hope that all of them are as nice as you."

This got Elvellon to giggle. "You're nice."

"Thank you, Elvellon." Gwelwen smiled and quit his embrace. "Elvellon…"

"Yea?"

"I just thought of something…"

"…and?…"

"Well, since I do not have any children of my own… and you do not like your father… well… I was wondering if I could adopt you."

"A..a..dopt? What's that?"

"It is when you come to live with me and I take care of you. Would you like that?"

"Yea! I wanna live with you!"

Gwelwen smiled happily and ruffled the little boy's hair lovingly. "Finish eating and I will fill out the papers."

Tbc… 


End file.
